033

Atmosphere, Compassion and Embodied Experience

A conversation about Atmosphere with Juhani Pallasmaa

Abstract

In this interview with OASEJuhani Pallasmaa
discusses how atmospheres are constructed in, for
instance, painting, literature and music, adjoining
professional fields that, according to him, also reveal
the essences of the field of architecture. Concerning
the role of the architect, Pallasmaa identifies a need
for a certain balance between naivety and expertise
to develop a sensibility for atmospheres. Pallasmaa
argues that atmosphere is immediately experienced
as a unity, in which all senses are simultaneously at work. The experience of atmospheric quality in
architecture, then, is by definition an embodied
experience. However, since architecture is subject to
use, atmosphere is by no means a merely individual
task. Pallasmaa notes, moreover, that it is crucial for
architects to empathise with users, clients and other
perceivers of architecture, no matter how anonymous
or distant they may seem. He thus considers, next to embodiment, compassion as a necessary skill for
architects to be able to build atmosphere.

OASE #98 about Narrating Urban Landscapes was presented on 1 February 2018 at the University of Greenwich, London. Lectures by Bruno Notteboom, Kris Scheerlink and Klaske Havik. Image: Klaske Havik, editor of OASE, during the presentation.

Especially for the 25th anniversary of the Kunsthal in Rotterdam OASE editor Véronique Patteeuw, talked to architect Rem Koolhaas about the realisation, current function and the future of the building. Also OASE #94 about OMA was discussed!

On 19 October 2017 OASE and the KU Leuven organised a workshop for students from KU Leuven and TU Delft. Later on OASE #98 was launched by the editors of this issue and the Scientific Board of OASE. Maarten Overdijk (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht) and Bas Smets (Bureau Bas Smets) gave lectures.

On 18 July 2017 member of the OASE editorial staff Veronique Patteeuw discussed her work as co-editor of OASE #97 at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in New York. Click here for more details.